Kingdom Hearts: Heart Fragments (version 2)
by WaterBendingQueen88
Summary: Mika was a normal girl when one day she becomes a Keyblader. If things weren't weird enough, now she has to help a handsome Heartless who's really a human, gather pieces of his heart to make him whole again.
1. Prologue

**A new version of Kingdom Hearts: Heart Fragments. I thank my editor, TruthOutrunsTheFiction, and my helper, Twenty-Twenty-One for all the help.**

A brown haired teen stands silently with his sapphire eyes locked on the docks of an island in the distance. Actually, it's a group of islands, but only the main one catches his attention. This particular group of islands is known as Destiny Islands.

He's been looking for a place to keep a low profile. This place looks better than the other worlds he's been to. But even the lightly swaying palm leaves and supple ocean gusts still didn't do anything to help him calm down. For a while now, he felt as if he'd been living in a fox hunt. He was the fox and the hounds were bloodthirsty and ruthless.

There's no use getting comfortable in this place. He's being targeted by the Organization and he can't afford to let his guard down. They were constantly using him to "collect data" which often led to a bunch of painful experiments and scars that ached when the temperature changed suddenly. When they were finished with him, they'd send him on another mission to collect hearts. Striving to be whole just isn't worth being treated like a worthless lab rat.

This particular nobody is different from the rest. For as long as he could remember, he only had one feeling. Rage. It courses through his veins like a roaring fire that is, at times, extremely hard to extinguish. The smallest little setback or unfortunate coincidence could set him off.

The calls of seagulls, the bumping of the boats on the docks, and the screeching sound of an old weather vane in the wind kept sending chills of frustration down his spine. The sounds are somewhat disturbing and faintly familiar to him, like he's heard them somewhere else before.

Destiny Islands has rows and rows of colorful houses that sit on pillars above the water. The tops of these houses have rusty metal roofs- though they didn't take away from their overall beauty. Close to these beautiful houses are surfboard shops, that are equally as colorful, with all kind of odd painted on designs. On a wall, there is a mural of people sharing a strange star-shaped fruit. There are paintings of that same fruit on the side of boat hulls. They're charms on necklaces, bracelets, and are even on the covers of children's books in the display windows of nearby bookshops.

An old man walks out of the bookshop in fast, confident strides to sweep the steps. Just like his walk, his work with the broom is quick. He probably wants to get the work done so he can get out of the heat as quickly as possible. Out of curiosity, Selwyn works up the nerve to walk up to the man.

"Excuse me," he calls to grab the man's attention. "Why are all these star-shaped fruits everywhere?" he asks.

The old man's brow to knits together in what appears to be confusion. "You've never heard the tale of the Paopu fruit?"

Now Selwyn is confused. "Paopu fruit?"

"Yes. There's a legend that says if you share a Paopu fruit with someone, your destinies become intertwined. You become a part of that person's life forever. If you're curious or just wanna know more about them, there's a tree that grows just on the other side of the island," the old man points.

Selwyn looks in the direction that the man's slightly trembling index finger points. Was it a condition? He doesn't know, nor does he want to. Just as he said, there's tree. It looks small from where he stands, but he knows everything looks small from a distance.

"There's a festival coming up. People bring the person most special to them and share a Paopu. Are you planning to go?"

"I don't think I'll ever have the time to go. But thanks," he lies. There really isn't much for him to do, but a festival is a definite no. That would waste his time.

With his hands stuffed deep in his pockets, he lets his legs carry him in some random direction. Those same star-shaped fruits, the Paopu fruits, are showing up everywhere. One girl passed him wearing a plastic one on her necklace. And a man standing next to a store was wearing a Paopu pin on his jacket.

These fruit must really be something special if they're dedicating a whole festival to them. Whether or not there's some truth to the intertwined destinies thing made him think. If you share one with someone, did that guarantee a happy ending? What if you become destined to keep fighting that person or to keep disappointing them? What if...?

His thoughts are interrupted by a small body bumping into him. It's a small child with sandy blond hair and big brown eyes. He expected some kind of "sorry mister" or even a "my bad", but the kid just runs around him to meet the rest of his giggling friends.

'It's just a dumb kid,' he thought as he continued in a different direction.

Now the fruits are making him angry. They're literally everywhere. He wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the people here pray to these things. No fruit in all the worlds can be this important.

The tree stays in his line of sight, taunting him. He doesn't dare look at it, now matter how much the curiosity ate away at him.

Something dark and fleeting steals his attention away from the fruits for a moment. It gives him an uneasy feeling that's painfully similar to his days in the Organization. Time stops, along with the people and activities going on around him. One of the Organization members is nearby and he feels it.

"Are you enjoying your vacation?" a cynical male voice hisses to him. Immediately, he takes a defensive stance and whips his head around to see which direction the voice is actually coming from, but quickly realizes it is possible. This is one of the many scare tactics he uses to make his prey feel small and trapped.

"Always a pleasure to hear from you," he speaks sarcastically. A portal of black and purple flames appear as a blonde man with cold blue eyes steps through. He's dressed in a long black cloak that falls about an inch or two above his ankles, which exposes the black boots he has on. It's zipped up all the way, but has a gap near the bottom so he could fight freely and comfortably. "Luxord," he finally spits out.

His arms cross themselves tightly over his broad chest and he shifts his weight from one foot to the other. "Isn't it? But I didn't come here to get reacquainted with you. Xemnas is displeased with you, Selwyn. You haven't returned from your mission."

Selwyn glares as his hands curl up into fists. "I didn't leave on a mission. I left because I'm sick of getting poked and prodded for no reason. These experiments won't tell you anything about the heartless and he knows that-"

"Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it doesn't have a purpose." The blonde man tilts his head to the side. He looks as if he's debating something within himself. "I've managed to talk him into letting you come back without any consequences. But only on the condition that you listen and obey." He smiles in an attempt to be friendly, but it only comes across as a cocky smirk.

"No," he frowns. "You can forget it. I'm done with the Organization and Xemnas. He can go find another Somebody to be his guinea pig because I'm not gonna do it anymore..."

The Gambler laughs. "A Somebody. Is that what you think you are now?" he asks with a hint of genuine curiosity. "No matter what you do or say, you will always be a Nobody. You'll always be one of us and you know that."

Realization sets in and his glare softens. He doesn't feel anything, just like Luxord. "Are you even really angry?" he asks. "No. Those are Pseudo-emotions. You feel nothing and you miss being able to emotionally react to things, don't you?"

Though his mouth opens to respond, no words come out. He misses the feeling of feeling, but not the Organization. They never did a single thing to help him and they never will. "I'm not coming back. End of discussion."

His smirk only widens as he chuckles. "Remember that you chose this path. Go on and chase after something you'll never find. Not alone, at least. You know we'll find you, Wyn, wherever you go."

He cringes at the nickname. Another portal appears behind him and he steps back, letting the faux flames consume him."And I'd hate to be the one to have to kill you..."

The anger that threatened to boil over inside him just seconds ago is gone now. Luxord's warning fades to a soft whisper as the world resumes its daily activities around him.

Selwyn stays on the island until the sun starts its graceful descent from the heavens down into the deep blue ocean. As it sinks, it gives off a beautiful crimson hue with hints of orange and yellow in it. Though he doesn't like darkness that follows sunset, he likes how the bright stars twinkle against that midnight blue blanket above him. It's a contradiction that he often tries to ignore.

He finds his mind wandering back to the fruit even when he tries to focus on other things. Like the fact that Luxord showed up earlier. If he can find him, then the entire Organization knows where he is already. No doubt they'll show up again, so he has to move quickly.

As the first star appears, he shoves his hands back in his pockets and starts walking. With a mind of their own, his feet take him closer and closer to the tree the man from earlier mentioned. It isn't that far from where he is now. If he didn't know any better, he'd say he's been subconsciously inching closer and closer to the tree all day. Maybe he wants to see it up close after all.

The walk takes all of ten minutes. Now, staring up at the large tree, he can see that it really isn't all that special. It doesn't even have any fruit on it.

"Figures. I knew it'd be a waste of time," he mumbles. Just as he starts to turn and walk away, the salty ocean breeze separates the leaves and reveals a small strip of yellow. Is this the fruit? He's seen so many plastic and painted ones that he almost thought this was a plastic one too. For the sake of proving his eyes wrong, he takes a hold of the trunk and lifts himself up until he can grab on to a branch. From there, he goes branch after branch until his fingertips graze one of the leaves connected to the fruit. He hesitates, but eventually reaches a bit further and plucks the fruit from the tree.

It isn't plastic. It's real with a shape that actually resembles a star. The strange thing is actually kind of heavy in his hands. Solid, even. He brings it to his nose and inhales. A part of him expects it to smell like an orange or an apple, but this is neither. It smells like...nothing. How can a fruit be so popular without even having a smell?

He smiles down at the fruit as he brushes his thumb against the surface. "Looks like you and I have a lot in common. We're both missing something and are being hunted by a bunch of crazies," he laughs bitterly. Does he feel crazy for talking to a fruit? Of course not. Though he does wonder why he expects a reply.

It'd be nice to have someone around that he can talk to. Just one time, he'd like to look back and see someone there ready to listen to whatever he has to say. Back in the Organization, everyone's too busy to listen. Well, there's Demyx, but he's almost positive that listening doesn't mean nod at the right times, then fall asleep.

The fruit listens. As if it has much of a choice. It can be a souvenir, a small reminder of this ugly yet beautiful world. "We should go. I'm sure you'd like to see another world, right?"

Silence. Why does he keep waiting for this thing to reply?

"Well, I didn't hear a no..."

Selwyn carefully maneuvers back down the tree- complaining the whole way -and lands on his feet as he drops to the ground. It's the last fruit here and he may never get the chance to see it again. So why not take it with him?

A laugh escapes his partially chapped lips. "You're a really great listener, you know that? I'll draw you a face later so I can really look at you. How 'bout that?"

No objections from the fruit. He's losing it, isn't he?

He shrugs and opens a portal to a new world. "The question is, are you a girl or a boy? No offense, but it's really hard to tell." His laughter echoes and fades as he walks through the portal, which soon closes in on itself.


	2. Chapter 1

**I thank my editor, TruthOutrunsTheFiction, and my helper, Twenty-Twenty-One for all the help.** **To all writers, please volenteer to help write with me. Please PM me to keep this story going.**

 _'Where I'm from, people always want you to look at the bigger picture. But those same people think that the "bigger picture" is just black and white. Either you're good or you're bad, nothing in between.'_

Mika sat at the top of the clock tower, perched on the ledge while her feet dangle off the edge. One wrong move, one slip up, or one careless movement could cause her to tip on over and come face to face with certain death. This she knew. She couldn't look down because she'd get nauseous, so she tried her best to keep her eyes from doing just that. Thank goodness the sun was setting. The view took her mind off of her slight fear of heights, if only for a little while, and made sitting there worth it.

 _'Lately I've been wondering if that's actually true. What if everything is just different shades of gray? Maybe black and white can coincide.'_

"Is everything alright?" someone asked. She turned and saw a brown-haired girl in an orange shirt with yellow flowers on it and a pair of khaki Capris. It was her best friend Olette.

"Olette," Mika turned away from the girl in a failed attempt to hide her worry. Olette could clearly see that Mika is upset. They've been friends long enough for her to be able to tell; she always said she could see it in her face. There's no use in lying to her. "I'm worried about Twilight town. Those monsters are popping up everywhere and no one knows what to do about it."

Olette carefully dropped down beside her and gave her her best smile. "Don't worry Mika. I'm sure Twilight Town's gonna be okay!"

Mika's eye twitched in annoyance and anger as she turned to face her friend. "Are you crazy? You don't know anything about what's going on! How can you be so optimistic when we could all possibly die?!"

"Think about it this way," Olette started. "Those things haven't taken over completely, have they? If there was absolutely no one dealing with the problem there'd be a body count. No one has died so far, and only a few people have scratches and scrapes. Someone has to be taking care of them, right? I won't be worried until there's no one left to help."

"You don't know that for a fact. What if there is no one? What if that's what those things want you to think?" she frowned.

"Have faith," the brunette shrugged. "If we have nothing else, we have to have that."

Mika eased off the ledge and pressed her back against the old brick wall of the tower. The only thing she could do is hides her face in her knees to keep from crying. Olette had no idea what she was talking about. Faith? What did faith do for all those people who died in the horror movies? They got killed thinking that they'd be the ones to survive.

Sadly, Olette might be one of those people in the movies. Just when she thinks she's going to make it out, the killer makes his move. And it's worse because their situation has more than one antagonist. Faith is nothing unless you back it up with your actions. "Go away," she mumbled.

"I don't understand. Don't you want everything to be okay? I thought-"

"Can you just leave me alone!" Mika yelled. The brown-haired girl gasped and covered her mouth with her fingers, which were a bit brighter than her own face. Mika only faintly heard a soft apology from her before she left.

The angered teen sighed pitifully and wrapped her arms tightly around her legs. She felt like she was sinking deeper and deeper into a dark, bottomless abyss of guilt. She didn't mean to be so mean to her. Olette didn't deserve to be treated like that. If she followed Olette, she'd only wind up making it worse. She wouldn't even know what to say to make it better.

With nothing left to do, she let tears of frustration slide down her cheeks as she buried her face in her knees.

XX XX

Sapphire blue eyes watched the girl sob softly. She was pretty, beautiful even, but the tears took all the attention away from her beauty. The boy that those eyes belonged to frowned. Before, all he could feel was anger. But as he continued to watch the girl, he felt something completely different. It felt really bad and he didn't quite understand it.

The Paopu he'd retrieved from the tree back in Destiny Islands was still in his hand. He didn't want to see her cry anymore, but he also didn't want to give the whole thing away.

'Should I share it with her, then?' he thought as he looked at the crying girl again. He sighed and nervously switched his attention back and forth between the girl and the fruit. For some reason, he felt compelled to share it.

'It can't hurt anything.'

He walked up to her, Paopu in hand. What should he say to her to get attention?

"Hello?" he tried.

The girl flinched and her head shot up. Seeing her tears up close made him feel really...weird. Before he lost his nerve, he took a step closer. "I noticed you were crying. Tears make me feel funny and I want you to stop it."

'Way to sound like an idiot,' he thought.

She wiped the tears and quickly stood. "What? Do you not cry?"

Selwyn tried his hardest not to frown. Of course he didn't cry, but she didn't know that. She didn't know him. "Not often," he lied. As she began to speak, he tore the fruit in half.

"Here," he interrupted. "Have some of this. Maybe it'll make you feel better."

The streaked-haired girl glared. "Do you honestly think that I'm going to take something from a shady looking guy in a black trench coat?

Ouch. When she said it like that, it made a bit of sense. But come on, he was trying to do something nice! That was really rare for him.

"Well...I'll eat it too. That way you'll know I didn't poison it or anything. Is that okay?"

She looked down at the half he offered her and sighed. "Alright." Once the fruit was in her hands, her eyes met his. They kept their eyes on each other as they each took a bite of their half, chewed, and swallowed.

XX XX

Once she got over the initial sour taste, it was actually good. No, amazing. It seemed to have several different flavors mixed together to make that one specific flavor. Her eyes closed as a small smile appeared on her face. One bite after another, they ate all of their halves.

"There. No more tears," the guy said.

Mika was grateful that this guy showed up with this. "Thanks for the..." When she opened her eyes, he was gone. Who was he? And where did he go?

At the bottom of the Clock Tower, there was a figure that looked like the guy that approached her. The figure was just in Mika's peripheral vision, but disappeared whenever she tried to look directly at it.

No normal person could possibly move that fast. Unless he jumped and miraculously survived the fall, which was impossible.

After a moment of thinking about the guy's disappearance, she shook her head and started down the stairs of the Clock Tower. The walk was paced, not rushed or lagging. The Station Plaza was so quiet and...empty. Usually, people would be walking back and forth, riding their skateboards around, or just eating some seasalt ice cream with their friends. Where was everyone?

Her shoes echoed as she walked towards the middle of the concrete platform outside, emphasising the heavy silence. It felt weird and was a bit suffocating. There were people when she arrived, but none when she was about to go home.

Her mind wandered back to the guy from earlier, and a giggle almost escaped. He was so awkward, yet strangely straight forward.

'That guy. What is it about him that's so different?'

A large black bird zipped by and stole her attention away. As it flew past, it glided with a grace humans could only dream of having, then switched directions and moved out of sight.

That brought Mika's attention to the red and orange sky. The large star sank into the ground and pulled a thick curtain of dark blue behind it like a train. It might've been fun to stay and watch, but it was getting late and she felt...like she was being watched. Her parents would have a fit if they knew she was out late by herself. She was having a bit of a fit now with the new feeling crawling up her back.

She jogged down the path leading away from the train station and made her way through the abnormally empty streets to her home, trying to forget the sensation of a pair of eyes watching her every move. The shadows were a problem, but it was late and there were no sightings of any today. None that anyone important knew of, anyway. But that didn't mean they wouldn't be back tomorrow, or the next day.

"Mom? Kiba?" The girl called as she closed and locked the front door. For a split second, she thought they were gone as well because the house was too quiet. On cue, there was a small clatter of pots and pans in the kitchen.

"In here!" her mother called. "Your brother was feeling sick so he took a nap. Dinner will be ready in half an hour."

"Alright. I'll be in my room." Their house wasn't as elaborate and big as other houses in Twilight Town, but it was big enough for the three of them. Having extra rooms and an upstairs wasn't necessary and they liked the house just the way it was.

Her room was the most comfortable room in the house. It may have been because it was hers, but her mother often said the same thing. Even in the comfort of her warm and inviting room, she felt like someone was there. She could see something just in her peripherals. The figure was always beside her, behind her, above her, but it'd never be there when she snapped around to look.

She wasn't surprised when she laid down on the bed and suddenly became sleepy. Maybe she was already tired and it was causing her to see things.

'A thirty minute nap' the tired part of her brain bargained with the rational part. 'I'm only resting my eyes a bit.'


	3. Chapter 2

**I thank Twenty-Twenty-One, ViandasJohnson and TruthOutrunsTheFiction for helping me.**

 **Many, Many Years Ago...**

 **"So, it's done. The bastard is finally gone."**

 **A pair of dark knights walked down a hallway in a large black castle floating in a darkened world, their key-like weapons of choice hanging from their waists. Their black armor covering everything on their bodies except for the eyes, due to the fierce golden glow they're in.**

 **One of them leaned against the wall and looked outward from the hallway down at the Theosophy Room, where the "Knights" kept their artifacts. "At what cost? He took a lot of people down with him."**

 **The other simply chuckled and folded his arms in front of him, "Are you still this soft? Someone needed to take that lunatic down before he inevitably turned on the very Ones who created him. That someone just happened to be those irritating Key Wielders from the Realm of Light."  
** **  
The one leaning against the wall retorted, "We should have dealt with our own affairs instead of outsourcing the problem to the Realm of Light. Yet you voted consistently against any form of solution for the Summerill problem-"**

 **"Will you shut your trap, Arden? The problem was dealt with! Summerill's gone, we can advance again as we see fit, and not worry about that thing he put together."**

 **"...No, the problem was that he put it together using such mundane pieces." Arden stated, as he got off of the wall and considered everything that had happened thus far. Numerous worlds scourged by the Crimson, and for what? The aggrandizement of one greedy and surprisingly intelligent Heartless.**

 **"The Azure Sea Rose, the Secret of Havenwood, the Forget-Me-Not, the Stained Red Eyestone, and the Promethean Ring that Summerill himself held. They're not exactly common items, you know." The Moody Black Knight stated, seeming still quite irate that this was an issue.**

 **Arden heard an alarm sounding, and both Black Knights immediately started to run down toward the front gate. For the Forces of Light had arrived to engage the Black Castle in battle, and they were duty bound to see it through.**

 **The Key Wielders pounded at the gate an infuriated mob, the Light Wielders cutting down Heartless after Heartless as the dark creatures formed into the world.**

 **Arden whispered to himself, "Please...for the sake of the worlds and everyone Dark or Light within them, never let Summerill return to the worlds and forbid the construction of the Dark Crimson."**

 **And then battle engaged, and his words were lost amidst the tides of time.**

X-X-X-X-X-X

...The World That Never Was...

The Organization, in its diminished state, met to discuss what was going on with Selwyn, and the realities of what was going on. Luxord duly reported what happened to the Superior; "The Test Subject repeatedly refused to return, citing the pain and distress the experiments have caused him."

This was not good news considering that their scientist, the man who had devised and knew the most about the experiments, was rather dead. Xemnas was acutely aware of this, and responded, "If only our dear intelligent scientist did not make so many, many vexingly unintelligent decisions..."

The Superior placed one hand to his chin in a gesture of contemplation, "Can we at least say that the procedures effects are retaining their potency?"

Xaldin reported on this, being that it was he who was assigned this task, "Indeed, while by and large the procedure is working, the fact he feels rage extremely intensely is a worrying prospect. It may mean that the procedure's effects are unraveling..."

Saix immediately answered this troubling insinuation, "Which must NEVER come to pass! Keep in mind we are not the sole parties with designs related to Kingdom Hearts and the Power of the Heart..."

Xigbar casually jested at this, "What, you mean the Wicked Witch of the Bastion and her puppy? Puh-leeze..."

Saix supposed it was obvious he needed to clarify what, exactly, he meant by that. "I suppose all of you are at least aware of the fact the King of the Heartless rests imprisoned?"

Nods from everyone across the room, which Saix took as license to continue his story, "There is a very good reason we selected that boy for our experiments. What he considers his Heart, the fragments of which he wishes to put together..."

Xigbar suddenly took this a lot more seriously and leaned forward, "Oh no way, you CANNOT be serious! We had that right here, and let him get all huffy and puffy about puttin' that back together?"

Xemnas stated in response, "Countermeasures have been taken. As long as he is returned to us, we can control this situation and prevent any further escalation. No matter what happens, we cannot allow Kingdom Hearts, our benefactor eternal, to be placed in the corrupted hands of that malevolent braggart!"

If he took his hands on Kingdom Hearts, that creature would grasp it in his hands and crush it, ruin it, and plunder it for its own sake, and then howl with joy at the bounty of Hearts that would herald his return to power. This was his...their time, Xemnas noted, and he would not tolerate someone like that plunging his way in.

Still, even to Xemnas, this was a worrying situation. They had been entirely focused on Sora's usefulness to the Organization, and so had entirely overlooked how close things had gotten to be dangerous on the front of Selwyn.

If that boy put his Heart back together, many things would happen in addition to restoring his emotions. Among other things, it would awaken a force he suspected not even Sora would be able to face head on, meaning their most active unwitting agent might end up in the hands of opposing forces.

Of course what this meant to the Organization now and their objective was that Selwyn must either be brought back in and the procedure resumed much more intensely, or he must be destroyed for the sake of their plans...

Luxord meanwhile found himself watching one of the towns Selwyn was known to be in, Twilight Town, a town so close to their own base though they knew it not. It looked like someone was looking around for something that did not concern them...

XXXXXXXX

Mika believed in the old Twilight Town Legend of the Ocean Rose. The thing is, no one really knew what the "Ocean Rose" was. Some people thought it was an actual sea flower; some believed it was the name of a sunken ship. There were others that thought it was a magical stone. What was she supposed to believe?

People tell their versions of the legend to friend and family, encouraging others to go out at search blindly for it. Many aren't surprised when they come up empty handed; it was all in fun after all.

As a child, Mika chose to believe that there was a flower somewhere in the ocean. She would dream that her stuffed dolphin friend was real and that they were the ones to find it. She even played with the other little kids, making up cool adventures with their toys about the legend for them to play along. There was a rapid succession of knocks at Mika's bedroom door that sounded like some kind of song. Whoever was knocking was definitely in a good mood. She looked at her digital clock and frowned. Nine thirty...did she miss dinner?

Yawning, she got up and opened her door. To her surprise, Olette was on the other side of it. Though she was happy to know that Olette wasn't upset with her after what happened a few hours ago, she was confused.

"Olette?" she mumbled sleepily. "What are you doing here so late? Your parents will kill you."

The brunette furrowed her eyebrows. "So late? It's morning..."

Morning? Not only did she sleep through dinner, but she also slept all the way until morning.

'This is what I get for resting my eyes' she thought with a slight frown. Then, she finally realized that the sun was shining through her window a bit.

"Oh..."

"Yeah. You coming to the Sandlot? Hayner and Pence are already on their way there."

It was much better than the day before. It didn't feel awkward or tense between the two. Could it have been a dream?

"Sure!"

XXXXXXXX

Mika was definitely thankful that she got out of her house. It was a beautiful day and the ice cream Hayner brought with him was a nice way to keep from suffocating in the heat.

"Seasalt is the best," Pence said to break the silence.

Olette laughed. "You say that about every flavor."

"Do not!" he frowned as he threw his wrapper at her.

Just as Mika was about to agree with her brunette friend, she felt like there was another person beside her. She stiffened and slowly turned her head to the left. There was no one there. With a relieved sigh, she turned her head forward.

Not today. If she had to lock herself up in her room the entire night, she'd do just that. "Guys, I'm sorry. I don't think I should be..."

Hayner reclined against the wall, noting that this had been another time she had behaved in such a way. "...You notice something kinda spooky's been going on?"

Pence looked over to the leader of the group, his interest perked, "Oh? Are you referring to the weird feeling there's someone else around?"

Olette nodded, "I'd felt something too, but it never comes over as strongly as what happens with you, Mika..."

Mika to be honest felt like she was thinking these weird thoughts lately. Contemplating more often, finding herself standing alone and thinking she was with someone else. Yet there would be nobody there.

Almost like she was walking in the echoes of someone else. Someone who walked in a different world in a similar way. "I'm gonna head out. See you guys later..."

Hayner and Pence waved her off, Hayner hoping to himself she got better. He smiled when he remembered her smiling earlier...

She remembered the story of the Ocean Rose, and decided that if nothing else doing something to investigate that should allay any eerie sensations. She'd been saving up Munny so she could use the Tram. Meaning it was about time to look around at the beach.

Proceeding out of the Usual Spot and the Back Alley, Mika looked around. There was definitely something out of the norm in Twilight Town today.

As she walked out to the Station, she noted a strange purple train leaving the Station on the outbound rail, sighed, and kept walking. She bought one ticket, and started to get on the tram to go to the beach. After she purchased her ticket, she started to walk to the tram.

As she went, she felt that odd sensation again, like something was watching her. Crowding around her, moving in and out of step with reality.

The odd feeling was silenced when a young man's voice issued, loud enough to quiet the strange feelings. "...one ticket to the beach."

As he received the ticket, he waved over his back at the person at the counter, "...thanks."

As he walked in front of Mika, she saw something bright suddenly flash in front of her eyes. She...knew this person from somewhere...but she could not place exactly where.

She got into the tram, trying to ignore the bizarre feeling.

And then she saw him, as by some coincidence they sat with about two people between them. He was handsome, though she was not the type to go gaga over a guy just because his cheeks were formed a certain way.

His hair was a rather light shade of brown she supposed, though that may have just been the light. His eyes, a startling sapphire blue, were what stood out to Mika.

She KNEW she knew this guy from somewhere, but she could not place his face anywhere. It was like she only knew him obliquely, and had forgotten about him due to an inordinate amount of time. But know him she did, and regardless what made her forget, she knew now...

...Wow, Mika felt like chuckling to herself, that was a lot of weird thoughts right there.

She was here to find that Rose, not to ogle a pretty boy. As soon as the tram stopped, she got off and found herself walking out next to the guy. She said nothing, and looked outward at the beach. There was a mostly populated area at the center and then a number of more craggy areas to the sides, where some old ships rested.

She knew the main beach area well enough to know she would not find anything interesting there being how often people combed over the place. Meaning she would need to brave the crags and the rumors of the "strange white husks" to find her Rose.

She started navigating the area, going down from the main beach off toward the side.

 ** _Why am I so strongly drawn toward this rose? It seems to be the center of my dreams...and for that, I need to know._**

And so she headed off from the more populated area of the beach, heading into the craggier and somewhat more ragged places, moving from rock to rock while looking for any signs. She saw surfers off in the distance, and hoped she wasn't going too far.

 _'I have to find out who that person I keep seeing in my dreams is. I see people. People I do not know. I have to find out the truth.'_

She banished any doubt and kept going, eventually seeing a ship in the distance. She leaped from rock to rock, moving quickly but carefully to reach it. She was so single-minded in pursuing it that she barely realized how far it was she was going.

And the fact there were strange noises in the seasalt scented air. Whish...whish...

Other footsteps moving in tandem with hers, approaching suddenly and quickly, as if unencumbered by the harsh terrain. Mika found herself standing about twelve feet from the ship, suddenly intimidated, feeling like she might not want to traipse into a possibly dangerous ship.

Then she heard something from a higher ledge near the ship, and turned around quickly, a flash of light in her vision as she looked at the figure standing on the side of a somewhat steep cliff. He was tall and lean; looking somewhat falsely angelic in his white coat and black buttoned shirt, slim dress pants leading down to steel toed boots.

He had a sword at his side, currently sheathed, with a single edge to it.

The man's black hair was expertly trimmed and cut, and his similar black eyes stared out from glasses in a decidedly eerie fashion.

He smirked and put a hand on his sword, "Well, it appears we have a nosy little girl who doesn't know certain areas can get...dangerous."

Mika backed up a little and decided to try to engage him, to at least distract him until she could get away. "W-Who are you? I haven't seen you around Twilight Town?"

The man chuckled and took his hand off the sword at least for the moment, "I am called Doctor Skelter. Lyle Skelter. As for you, little girl, I believe the name is...Mika? And the only reason one might come out here is to look for the Ocean Rose...which, I am sad to say, you may not have."

He snapped his fingers, and Mika gasped as six sword-wielding black clad creatures with yellow eyes leaped out of the air and brandished their weapons. "W-What are...?"

Lyle took out what looked like a black star-shaped charm, "Gifts, from my most generous lord. For, you see, Lord Summerill demands the Ocean Rose, and I am afraid you have gone a little too far. The Heartless will devour you, and nobody will ever know what happened to you."

He stated that as if it was simple fact, with no inclination toward any feeling.

He noticed she was moving back toward the ship. And had decided thus that he could just dispose of her with these armored things.

As they rushed forward, Mika found herself falling forward on the ship due to some slippery wood, and brought her arms up to at least keep them off for a moment. Then all of a sudden, there was a sound like a high-pitched whistling.

The Heartless – or so the glasses wearing mercenary called them – stopped for a moment and then a rain of arrows from on high struck all of them down, the arrows seeming composed of green energy.

The glasses wearing man cursed when he saw this happen and drew his sword lightning fast, slashing an arrow heading his way and moving backward slightly, "Curse him, getting in my way...very well. Little girl, you have made your future immediately more difficult."

The glasses wearing man vanished into a portal of darkness, and Mika stood back up, and looked around for her savior – finding him standing on a higher deck of the ship. She immediately recognized him as the guy from the train.

This brought back the immediate feelings of deja vu, and Mika was left blubbering to herself as he put away his weapon and sighed. She managed to collect herself as he leaped down, trying to run after him.

"Hey, that was pretty cool, what you did up there-"

He seemed to ignore her for right now and kept walking down into the ship's inner portions, but did look back at her, and a smile tugged at his seemingly perpetual frown.

Mika decided – despite – or maybe, because of what happened out there – that she could no longer leave this be. She just couldn't stand to let that glasses wearing sadist get his dirty claws on the Rose. She did however recognize that as things were now, she had little in the way of defending herself.

Looking around, she found what looked like a sabre of some kind laying within its sheath on a table. Was this a genuine pirate's sword or something? Yeah, that would do for now.

Mika picked up the sabre and darted in after the guy. Whatever happened from here on, she was not going to let herself get stuck in easy explanations. She wanted to know what was going on, and why all these people were showing up now.

XXXXXXXXX

"And so, the King of the Heartless shows a few cards from his hand. Never did figure Selwyn for the type to go for a pretty face..." Luxord mused as he left his report to Xemnas about what had happened in Twilight Town. For better or worse he would be paying a lot of attention to what happened to the boy and the girl.

For better, because this would let him know some of what was going on not just in this game, but in others...

For worse, because it meant getting invested in yet another like Roxas...and it had hurt – somehow – the last time he became particularly invested in such a way.

Xigbar walked through the hallway, looking unusually stressed out about something – though Luxord had his own ideas about that. "Can you seriously believe this? I mean, why'd he keep clam quiet about all'a this until just recently? Wouldn't that be a rather important thing, a competitor?"

Xigbar on the other hand was already thinking about what they'd seen thus far down there. He'd seen the whole fight and the looks those two gave each other. Did that mean that this was "going to happen again"?

The sniper was one of the few people in the know, and connected to someone with experience in this sort of thing – so he was confident he'd know if such was the case.

Luxord replied, looking out at the night sky of the World That Never Was through a window, "I figured there were more participants in this game than just Sora, us, and the witch. What surprises me is that this "Summerill" can still find hirelings even though he is bound."

Xigbar seemed to consider saying something on that subject, as if remembering something from a discussion from long ago. He reconsidered and stated, "Well, whatever, as long as people are smart, Kingy's staying exactly where he is – though considering some of the "brilliant minds" involved, wouldn't surprise me if by the end the Ol' King was roaring and ready to go..."

Luxord chuckled at this, though he noted the odd silence between their sentences. However he did not outwardly make anything of this. "Reckless moves are all the moves two or three of our opposing number seem to make...well, it just means we need to use more of our hand to counteract this drooling idiocy."

Xigbar turned away, a dark smile starting to show on his face, "And I think I know exactly what you're talking about, Luxord. I know just the fellas for this kind of thing."

Luxord detected something in that, and wondered what might be coming Selwyn's way. He and that little girl might've stepped into something they couldn't step out of easily.

 _'I warned you, Luxord thought somewhat wistfully, I warned you that leaving things as they were now wouldn't end well. I suppose with the way things were going that I'd need to play these cards eventually.'_


End file.
